


The Way Back

by macaroni_rascal



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Genre: 5 + 1, Angst, F/M, Fluff, padres being padres
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-23 08:38:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9648341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macaroni_rascal/pseuds/macaroni_rascal
Summary: 5 times the Padres were there for Ginny and 1 time Mike was...In other words: the Padres are amazing, Mike Lawson is an idiot, and everyone loves Ginny Baker.





	1. Angry fan at a bar

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zouriaf](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Zouriaf).



> Pitch Gift Exchange for my lovely Valentine: Zouriaf!
> 
> This fic became a bit of a beast, I hope my lovely valentine enjoys. 
> 
> Some basic information: the chapters are out of order chronologically, so some will be during spring training, others during the season, but its all set in the season after Ginny gets injured. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An angry fan tries to mess with Ginny but she has support.

Despite her usual solitary attitude, mostly due to her dad and upbringing, she enjoys going out with the guys. She certainly doesn't want or need to go out every time they ask, but when she does decide to join, she always has a good time. Besides, its nice to spend time with her team.

It's makes her feel warm and comforted when she's out with them. It's her second season and she hasn't been this content in a long time. Maybe the most content she’s ever been. Her arm has healed completely, she was only on the DL up until the second week of spring training so she has been able to come back, slowly, but surely.

The team is out at a bar, they are in Chicago playing a series of games against the Cubs. They'd won today, wanted to celebrate and had decided drinking and dancing was the best way to go about it. Ginny had been in high spirits all day, she'd had an amazing start, striking out player after player, she only let one run in and her cutter has become a thing of beauty, according to her captain and catcher.

Speaking of, she catches his eye from across the bar. He is seated at the team’s table, nursing a beer and looking like his usual grumpy self. She shoots him a smile which he returns, before turning back to his conversation with Blip. 

She'd been dancing for the past few songs and had gotten thirsty. She wasn't in a drinking mood, she had plans with Mike to go sight seeing around the city on their one and only day off. She'd chided him that he could at least show her around the city he'd almost left the Padres for. He'd rolled his eyes but acquiesced quicker than she'd expected. 

Things had been getting better between them since the fallout of her injury. Him and Rachel were over, they had started talking more, cautiously going back to being the friends they were during her first season. She still had semi-regular PT appointments at a clinic outside Petco and he’d started picking her up and going with her, claiming carpooling was a better idea that him meeting her there. She'd sarcastically asked if he was just doing it for the environment, he'd responded, "gotta save those trees, Baker," she'd laughed and he laughed and it made her feel like they were back to normal.

It had been really hard for her, not having Mike around after her injury. He’d somewhat ghosted on her, losing himself in his relationship with Rachel, not visiting her at the hospital or helping her during the off season. She had assumed, given their friendship and connection, that he would be around to help her. She’s still learning how to trust him again. She takes comfort in knowing that that he knows he screwed up and is working on fixing it. Besides, she cares far too much for Mike, more than she should, to not at least try and forgive him.

She feels a body saddle up to hers at the bar, too close for comfort and she takes a step back before glancing over at the imposing presence to her left. 

It was a tall guy with a high forehead, strong cheekbones, and a prominent chin. Everything about him screamed “frat bro,” he looked angry and Ginny braced herself for what she was sure was going to be a sexist and/or racist rant. She really wasn’t in the mood, not that she was ever in the mood. She was about to smile politely and try and make a run for it into the dance floor when he spoke.

"You Ginny Baker?" He asks in a gruff voice. 

"Yeah, that's me," she says uneasily, the guy's face had yet to soften.

She'd had a few intense encounters before; angry fans saying she was ruining the game, degrading comments about her body, even threats sometimes. She'd gotten incredibly skilled at handling those types of situations, but they hadn't become less scary in the years since she'd had to deal with them. Or any less draining. 

He lifts a finger and starts wagging it in her face, spouting the typical misogynist diatribe that there was no place for girls in baseball, what right did she think she had, etc,

She can barely contain an eye roll, ready to just excuse herself and walk away like she’d planned, nothing good would come of provoking him more and as much as her lungs were burning to yell at the douchebag, she holds herself back. Years of verbal abuse from strangers had made her exceptionally good at letting things roll off her back. It expelled too much energy and took too much effort, the people saying those awful things weren't worth her time.

When her water finally arrives, she grabs the bottle and decides she's heard enough of the asshole’s ranting, she cuts him off with a slightly sarcastic, "sorry you feel that way." She isn’t expecting him to grab her arm, spinning her back to face him, saying she was being rude. 

He’s holding her pitching arm and squeezing too tightly for comfort, Ginny doesn’t want to wrench her arm away, lest he hold on tighter and hurt her. She’s about to try and talk him down, despite the lump in her throat and slight tremor of fear in her hands, when she feels a warm hand land on her shoulder.

"I think she wants you to let go, dude" She looks over to see Salvamini glaring at the man intensely, eyes hard, jaw clenched.

The man finally lets go, muttering angrily before turning and walking into the crowd, disappearing from sight. Ginny takes a deep breath and rubs at her arm, she doesn’t think it will bruise but it was still a little tender.

Salvi's hand is still on her shoulder and he squeezes supportively.

"What an jackass! Your arm okay?" He asks, looking concerned and it makes her smile reassuringly back at him. 

"Yeah, no harm done. Thanks, Salvi," she opens her water and took a few sips, calming herself down and taking a few breaths. It never really got easier, at least now she had back-up.

Salvi's eyes widen all of a sudden at something behind her and she turns to look, Mike is making his way through the crowd at a fast pace, next to them before she can blink.

"Did that asshole grab your arm? Where is he?" He’s fuming and looks about ready to murder something. 

"It's alright, old man," she touches his arm, waiting until he looks at her instead of scanning the crowd, "my arm is fine and Salvi stepped in before I had to knee him in the groin, it's all good."

He loses some of his anger but his brow remains furrowed and his eyes don’t loose their fire. He takes a few deep breaths before leveling her with a heavy look, concerned and anxious. 

Salvi gives them both back pats before folding himself back into the dance floor.

She takes another drink of water, determined not to let any of this spoil her good day and good mood. 

"You really alright?" Mike's eyes are wide and searching.

"I'm good, seriously," she nods and maintains eye contact, letting him see that she really is fine.

He stares at her for a few more heavy seconds, before squinting at and letting out a breath.

"Alright, come with me, you need to break the tie over who the worst Cub ever was: Milton Bradley or Ian Stewart. My money is on Bradley but Blip keeps bringing up Stewart’s twitter feuds, ya gotta back me up, rookie.” He places a warm hand on her back and they head back to join the rest of the team.

She laughs loudly, the warm feeling returning in full force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


	2. Family issues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ginny deals with family stuff and has a friend when she needs one.

Omar finds her.

She's in the gym, sitting on one of the treadmills, sniffling as tears fall hot and salty down her face. She'd received a call from her mother and they had ended up fighting. Her mom mentioned something about her brother which only made it worse, then she inevitably started thinking about her dad and it all just spiralled away from her.

She tried to go back to jogging but had to stop once her vision became blurred from the tears collecting in her eyes. Ginny hates when this happens, when it feels like she’s sitting at the bottom of a well with a broken ladder that she keeps trying to fix, but just ends up breaking again and again no matter how hard she works. 

She puts a hand over her chest and tries to calm her breathing. In through her nose, out through her mouth. 

Her and Omar had become much closer since her injury. He'd admitted to having a crush on her and was now happily dating his girlfriend of four months. She remembers how nervous he’d looked, like he was afraid she was going to kill him for whatever he wanted to tell her. They’d shared a laugh and moved past it quickly.

They even had similar family situations. His mother had died while he was a teenager, he had a tenuous relationship with a dad who never really understood his son’s fascination with baseball, even a brother he didn't talk to much. Although that had more to do with the fact that his brother had slept with a girlfriend of his and had never apologized. 

They'd bonded, and now whenever they had a specific problem with their respective families, they usually went to each other first. It was nice. With her and Mike’s rocky relationship, it was good to have someone to talk to about this stuff. Plus, turns out Omar had a hilarious sense of humour and could do the best Al impersonation she’d ever seen. 

"Hey, Bak-- oh, what's wrong?" He sits down at the treadmill next to hers.

"Just family stuff," she sniffs again, taking a few breaths. She hopes she's done crying. She looks over and sees Omar shake his head, an understanding crossing his face.

"Mom or brother?" He asks quietly.

"Mom," she signs heavily before whipping her face for a final time and stretching her arms above her head, rolling her neck side to side.

"Do you wanna talk about it? We can, you know, any time," he usually said that, that she could talk to him any time. 

It started after she'd called him pretty late one day after she gotten a surprised visit from her brother about a month after her injury. Will hadn’t asked her how she was, he had just wanted her to listen to his new pitch for the restaurant that he'd been working on and he thought she'd be more receptive this time.

They'd gotten into another fight and Ginny was close to having a panic attack after he'd left so she'd called Omar and ranted to expel all the nervous energy inside her. She'd apologized for waking him up, not realizing how late it was and he'd just responded with: "Any time."

She hoists herself up and off the treadmill, ready to get back to her work out and focus, she'd talk to Omar after BP today, but for the moment she needed to prioritize.

"I'm okay for now, thanks, Rhobles" she shoots him a smile when he nods at her. He lays a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezes once.

This is the scene Mike walks in on: a red eyed Ginny, and Omar looking vaguely concerned with his hand on her shoulder. His eyes narrow as he takes them in.

"You crying, Baker?" His eyes jump to Rhobles, somehow thinking he's the reason. 

"Just some family drama, I'm fine," she wants to end this now. She knows Omar will respect her decision to not talk about it but Mike has been known to push sometimes and she just wants to start her run up again.

He walks over slowly, Rhobles had dropped his hand as soon as Mike's eyes landed on him. Ginny frowned. Why did Omar look so nervous? He was shifting from foot to foot and avoiding Mike's gaze. He mumbled something about weights and went to the other side of the gym to start his work out.

Her captain saddles up beside her, arms crossing, the grumpy and suspicious look still colouring his features.

"You okay?" He asks, but his eyes follow Omar as he walks away, they land back on hers and she shrinks under the gaze a little. Being on the receiving end of Mike's full attention was a little daunting and it made her fingers tingle; she flexes them once before curling them into fists and crossing her arms to match his stance.

She was still feeling raw from his lack of involvement or interest in her after she got hurt. They had only just started spring training and while he seemed to be making efforts to get back in her good graces, she was more than a little apprehensive. 

"I'm okay," she nods decisively. 

He nods back at her but he still looks somewhat sullen.

"Since when are you and Rhobles friends?" He asks, voice gruff and trying to sounds casual. 

"Since a while, what's it to you?" She climbs back on the treadmill and Mike takes his place on the machine next to hers. 

He shrugs as he starts a fast walk to warm up, not answering her. 

"Wanna go over the hitters after this?" He asks before he picks up speed to match her.

She nods and concentrates on her breathing, staring straight ahead, focusing on the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


	3. Idiot journalist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Journalists continue to be the worst but at least Ginny has support.

She wakes up to a dozen missed calls and a stupidly large amount of texts. She already doesn't want to deal with whatever it is. More often than not in these situations something bad has happened; maybe another skeleton from her closet popped up, maybe a high school peer gave a tell-all interview, maybe some idiot player had said something about her and everyone wanted a comment. 

She turns over and buries herself into the pillows and convinces herself that if she doesn't acknowledge her phone, the problem doesn't actually exist. She can just hide in her little bubble of silence and soft sheets and not deal with her life for a little while. Ginny thinks she's earned that. 

Her and Mike were on better terms with each other since her injury, not back to where they were, but getting there. There had been a few weeks when she was completely focused on her recovery and her future, where Mike had lost himself in his ex-wife, and somewhat shirked his duties as captain, and as her friend if she was being totally honest.

She squeezes her eye shut tighter. She feels bad needing to keep reminding herself that she wasn't his responsibility and he had no reason to have been with her during her recovery. She's still bitter that it took him so long to talk to her. When she’d finally seen him, that first day of spring training, she’d given him a polite nod and not much else. She won’t say the vindictive and somewhat immature side of herself didn’t feel satisfied to see his disappointment at her lack of interaction. She was just following his lead, after all. 

She wasn’t ready to jump back into being friends with him, he understood that, if begrudgingly. 

Her arm was feeling good, spring training was almost done and while she wouldn't be back to full capacity any time soon, the doctors had told her she would make a full recovery so long as she took it slow, easing back into pitching and not over taxing herself. All things that went against everything she wanted to do, but she understood that she didn't have control over her injury, just how she went about dealing with it.

She has high hopes that she'll do some relief pitching in the beginning of the season and maybe start sometime after that. 

A furious wrapping at the door makes her groan and try and disappear into her bed. When the knocking didn't cease, just becoming louder and more obtrusive, Ginny heaves herself out of bed and makes her way to the door, already bracing herself for whatever is on the other side.

Ginny barely unlocks the door when Evelyn pushes her way into her hotel room, scolding her for not answering her phone.

"I'm assuming you haven't seen it yet?" Ev asks in an excited voice, almost jumping out of her skin.

Ginny feels some of her anxiety dissipate; if Evelyn is happy then it must be good news, or at the very least, not bad news. 

Ginny's blank face makes Evelyn squeal a little, high pitched and exuberant. She drags Ginny over to the couch and pulls out her phone, bringing up a news clip from the day before.

She'd almost forgotten, a reporter had come to Petco to interview some of the Padres about what they expected from the season, how they felt about getting as close to the World Series as they had last year, and inevitably, an update on her injury.

The Padres had been relatively tight lipped about her arm, they gave sparse and broad updates; that she was feeling good, that the team was supporting her, all the pithy half-answers that were typical for situations like hers. 

She settles in as Evelyn presses play and she glances over the see her friend watching her like a hawk, rather than the video. 

Ginny shakes her head and turns back to the interview.

There were easy bubble gum questions, clips of interviews with players interspersed with b-roll of the team training and chatting with each other. She hadn't been with the team yesterday, she'd had PT and Al had given her strict orders to only come to half of training and take it easy so she had done just that. 

"Okay, this part! This part!" Evelyn is practically vibrating beside her and Ginny can't help but smile and feel immensely curious about what she was about to see.

The camera cuts back to the reporter and Voorhies, easy smiles on both their faces.

"So, lets talk about what's on everybody's mind: how is Ginny Baker doing? And will she be playing once the season starts?"

Voorhies doesn't lose his ease, maintaining a level of equanimity that came from years of press work.

"Oh, she's good, she's good. We've all been behind her through her recovery and she's been incredibly strong through everything," Dusty smiles, a non-answer but, basically a summary of what the team was told they were allowed to say. 

"Right, but is she going to be playing or is she done for and baseball can finally go back to normal?" The reporter has a joking smile on his face. Ginny rolls her eyes. Typical.

She watches as Voorhies face falls completely, he stops chewing his gum and where his arms are crossed she can see him tightening his grip, coiled and tense.

"Go back to normal? I hate to break it to you but this is the new normal. She changed the game and baseball is better for it. I think I speak for all the Padres when I say that Ginny Baker is an amazingly talented ball player and a great teammate, she deserves to be where she is, she worked hard for it, she's a Padre no matter what," Voorhies ends his rant with a decisive head nod and the reported is dumbfounded. 

There are a few seconds of tense silence before the reporter chuckles awkwardly and changes the subject asking him what his plans are for his time off before the season starts.

Evelyn pauses the video and Ginny didn't realize but she'd been holding her breath since Dusty started speaking. 

She lets it out slowly and isn't quite sure how to handle the intense joy and gratitude she feels for being part of such an amazing team. She hasn't feel so accepted anywhere in her life and she thinks she's going to have to hug Voorhies the next time she sees him, or get him those waffles from that place he likes so much. Maybe both.

When she doesn't say anything, Evelyn grabs one of her arms and shakes her.

"So awesome, right? Did you see the reporter's face? Pure gold!" She's laughing and jumping up and down a little and Ginny smiles with her.

She shakes her head, feeling warm and secure, protected and supported.

"I'm gonna get him those waffles he likes," Ginny finally says.

Evelyn starts laughing and agrees it's the perfect idea, she leaves a few minutes later saying she has errands to run and to call her later.

Ginny finds the interview herself and watches it one more time, just because. First Mike, now Dusty. It felt nice to have other people defending her to the press, besides herself. 

Mike's name pops up on her phone just as Voorhies is finishing his spiel and Ginny contemplates for a few moments before answering.

"Did you see it?" Mike says before she can even greet him. She chuckles.

"Yeah, Evelyn came over and showed me," she smiles thinking about, "I'm starting to think you guys actually want me around."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Baker," he says through the phone.

"The reporters face was pretty priceless," Ginny settles into her bed, getting comfortable.

"Such a scumbag, what kind of question was that?" Ginny starts for a second when the words come out serious and angry, "not only was it unprofessional as hell, it was sexist and disrespectful."

"Ya don't say?" Ginny says wryly, as if she wasn't aware.

"All I'm saying is I'm glad he interviewed Voorhies before me," his words are dark and vaguely threatening, Ginny's throat tightens. 

They don't say anything for a few moments, Mike stewing in residual anger and Ginny unsure of how to break the tension. She ends up going with:

"I'm thinking of getting Voorhies some of those waffles he likes."

It works. Mike huffs out a chuckle and agrees that he would appreciate it. They continue chatting about this and that and despite her arm not being at 100% yet, despite how unsure she is about how much she'll be playing this season, she feels okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


	4. Break ups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Padres want to help Ginny post-break up.

It was an accident that they found out. She'd wanted to keep it quiet, try and minimize any clubhouse gossip. She really should have known better, the Padres rival old ladies for how much they pry into each other lives.

Sonny sees a text from Evelyn on her phone while they're playing wii, asking her how she's doing since the break up. 

Sonny being Sonny, had exclaimed rather loudly, "You and your tech guy broke up?!" Half the clubhouse immediately bombarded her with questions about who did it, when it happened, what brought it on.

"You didn't tell us?"

"Did he buy you too many presents?"

"Was it the guitar?"

She's laughing a little, smiling at the idiots she calls teammates. Her and Noah had broken up a week ago, but she wasn't angry or hurt or any of the typical stuff people felt after a relationship ends which just further proved it was a good thing it ended. If she didn't care about the break up, she certainly didn't care about the relationship. 

Ginny holds up her hands, still laughing at the onslaught of half concerned-half mocking baseball players, "Okay, okay! Yes, we broke up last week."

She realizes her captain is noticeably absent from the ribbing, she surreptitiously looks back at his locker and he's sitting, his back is turned and she can tell from the hunch in his shoulders that he's tense. She refused to let herself dwell, instead shutting down every outlandish reason for her break up.

"No, he wasn't a stalker fanboy, no he was not a spy for the Dodgers and he definitely did not secretly hate baseball, he actually didn't know much about it," she placates them.

That brings on a whole new amount of comments.

"So that's why then, he didn't appreciate the best game ever played. Understandable and we support you," Butch says as he pats her on the back.

She gives up trying to reason with them and attempts to change the subject but Sonny won't let her.

"Now listen here, we gotta celebrate Baker's new found single-dom with a night out, who's in?" She's more than a little surprised when almost all the guys nod or shout their agreement. 

Before she can even open her mouth to explain that it's not necessary, the guys have already picked the day, the bar, and the time. Ginny realizes it would be a fool’s errand to try and dissuade them so she acquiesces and counts herself lucky that her team cares this much. She's sure the desire to go out drinking helps, but she's still happy.

Sonny and Dusty are asking her what her rebound type is when Mike claps loudly a couple times and tells everyone to head out to the field for training.

He doesn't look at her when she glances over at him, she's a little lost when it seems like he's actively avoiding looking at her, or even acknowledging her at all. She bites back the irritation she can feel building and starts to head out with the rest of the team, determined not to let the man-child that is Mike Lawson put a damper on her good mood.

A gentle hand on her elbow stops her from joining the team. When she turns, it's Mike, a slightly annoyed look on his face, As she assesses him, there is something else in his expression that stops her from making the sarcastic comment that’s sitting on her tongue.

Rather than speak, she quirks an eyebrow and waits for him.

He opens his mouth once, then closes it and she's getting uncomfortable.

"Whats up, Lawson?”

When he shakes his head, and looks ever more frustrated she tries not to sigh. 

He gives up, "It's nothing, Baker. See you out there," he smiles politely at her and turns to go back to his locker. 

She takes a deep breath and starts to head out to the field again. Once more, he stops her.

"Wait, no, hold on a second," she turns back and levels him with an impatient and slightly exasperated look. 

Whatever it is he's having trouble with, this is not the time or the place. She knows it's not about baseball, she's entirely sure it's about Noah.

"Why did you guys break up?" Is what he ends up going with, she's less than amused.

"Seriously? That's why I'm not with the team right now? You wanna ask me about my personal life?" Her tone is clear, she's not impressed.

She watches as he flushes a little bit, shifting from foot to foot.

"No, no, that's not why I stopped you, I just--" he bites back a curse, "you okay? With everything? I'm here to talk, if you wanna talk," he keeps looking at her then glancing away furtively only to look back at her to gage her reaction. He looks nervous and unsure.

She holds back the sarcastic laugh that is bubbling up in her, wanting to ask where this person was when she'd first been injured, when she'd been through her recovery. They hadn't talked, really talked, since last season, he'd made sure of that. 

She is less than inclined to accept his olive branch when he burned down everything they'd cultivated between them. Ginny does not take people leaving her lightly, and for all intents and purposes, Mike had left her. He'd stopped being her friend, and became nothing more than a teammate. He'd have to accept that, she had.

"No, I think I'm good. A night out with the guys is just what I need," she says plainly, he looks crestfallen and a little defeated.

"Salvi's dance moves could cheer anyone up," he jokes, a little awkwardly but nonetheless.

She smiles and nods, waiting to see if he's going to say anything else. When he doesn't, instead just looks at her with searching eyes, she's reached end of her rope.

"Alright then," she turns and walks out of the clubhouse to the field, ignoring the hairs that stand up on the back of her neck from where she can feel him staring after her. 

It would take more than an invitation to talk to get them back to normal, she had other things to think about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


	5. Kangaroo court

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kangaroo Court gets personal.

The sound of the gavel tapping against Mike's locker grabs everyone's attention. They were still waiting on word about whether they would be able to keep playing. The jar gets passed around and Mike and Blip takes their seats, captain and first-mate, ready to pass judgement as they saw fit. 

The team gathers around and Ginny plops herself down between Omar and Livan, already excited for the next installment of Kangaroo Court. They had only occasion for two other sessions since she'd been on the team, but they'd been hilarious and good fun. A weird sort of team building exercise. 

Butch accused Melky of eating all his milk duds, despite having explicitly asked him not to. Melky was fined $20 and a week’s supply of the candy. Ginny laughed and shook her head as they haggled over how much a week’s supply really meant. 

Voorhies got fined $30 for missing a sign from Buck and Javanes was reprimanded for leaving his truly horrible smelling socks in the common area. 

It started to go down hill when the new guy on the team, Cross, an outfielder that got traded from the Rays a few weeks back, got accused of showboating unnecessarily during his last two at bats.

Ginny hadn't spent much time with Cross besides the quick introduction they'd had when he'd first been traded. She didn't get the sense he liked her very much, but he avoided her and never made problems so she was fine keeping her distance as well.

"Is it showboating if I got runs in both times?" He smirks a little pompously and Ginny holds back her eye roll. She watches as Mike does not. 

"It's about courtesy and manners on the field, Cross. Besides, we lost one of those games so climb off your high horse, alright? Bailiff, fine the man $40 and read the next grievance," Mike was about to smack the gavel when Cross pipped up again. 

"I was just trying to make an impression, kinda hard when all anyone wants to talk about is girl-wonder over here," Ginny starts just a little bit as she sees Cross gesture to her, an annoyed look on his face. 

There is heavy silence in the clubhouse for a few tense seconds before the Padres, minus Cross, voice their displeasure.

"Woah-woah-woah!"

"Hey!"

"C'mon, Cross, are you kidding?"

"Not cool!"

They are all talking over each other and Ginny tries very hard not both shrink under the attention and show her pride at being so quickly and vocally supported. She looks over and sees Mike looking lost and livid, like he knows he wants to say something but he's not sure what. He reaches for the gavel but Livan's voice comes out above the din.

"Don't take about Baker like that, man, she's a Padre just like you. Plus she's been here longer, so show some respect," he looks angry and a little protective.

Mike is full on glowering, she doesn't know if it's more directed towards Cross or Duarte, but she thinks if he holds that expression any longer his face might get stuck like that. More than it already is, in any case.

Cross holds his hands up in surrender, clearly not expecting the onslaught of grumbling baseball players. The gavel smacks hard a few times and the clubhouse settles completely.

"Well I can't fine you all for talking out of line, but I will up Cross' to $100 for his continued show of disrespect," it looks like he's grinding the words out, like it's taking pains for him to remain as calm as he is. She knows him well enough by now to see the tension underneath, she knows he's protective of her despite their tenuous friendship. 

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Cross guffaw at his fine but he seems to have learned his lesson and stays quiet, accepting his punishment and hopefully learning from it. 

Blip is pulling out another grievance when Al comes in and says they are going be good to play in 20 and everyone should warm up before heading back out. 

Court quickly disbands as the Padres get ready to play. She goes to the gym to stretch. Mike comes in a few minutes after her, sits himself beside her and begins to follow her stretches. 

He doesn't say anything so neither does she, they stretch together in silence. When they get up to make their way out to the field, Mike stops her with a gentle hand on her arm.

"You are a wonder," he says quietly, not quite looking at her. 

He slides past her, walking out and leaving her feeling bereft and a little drained. They were slowly making their way back to being friends, but he'd go and do or say something like that and she's right back to standing on that curb, wanting to lean into him.

He's not with Rachel anymore but they were still teammates. She takes a steadying breath, shakes out her limbs and makes her way out to the field with the rest of the team. 

Livan catches up with her and bumps her shoulder, inquiring about weekend plans and whether she wanted to go dancing with him and some friends that were visiting from Cuba. She tries not to be aware of Mike walking behind them, his grumpiness broadcasting off him, clear as day. 

She smiles up at Livan but declines his offer, not feeling like going out or being social.

She feels more than sees Mike calm down. She chances a glance at him as they make their way into the dug out, going a little breathless at the charged look her gives her, eyes wide and serious.

She refocuses and they end up winning the game. Cross doesn't showboat despite his double and Ginny even gives him a high five in the spirit of, well, team spirit. He gives her an awkward head nod, she assumes that's all she'll get but she takes it. 

She grabs Mike before they both leave the stadium and asks him if he has any weekend plans, she has yet to see the new Star Wars. The head tilt and sincere, hopeful smile he sends her way have her insides in a jumbled mess but she smiles back as he accepts, saying he doesn't mine seeing it a second time. 

They walk out together, heading in the same direction for the first time in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


	6. the way back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mike finally gets his shit together.

Something is wrong with Ginny. 

Even from 60 feet away he can tell something is wrong. They'd gone over the hitters and she'd been more reticent than usual. There was a slump in her shoulders and a heaviness to her steps that made him desperately want to ask her what was wrong.

He’s hated watching her from afar these past months. Ignoring the fact that it makes him feel like a creep, it also makes him unspeakably sad. He knows that it's his fault, he caused the distance between them by not coming to see her after her injury, for not helping, for not being there like he should have. 

Self-loathing aside, he's been trying to get back in her good graces ever since the pre-season started. He knew it wouldn't be easy, Ginny does not take people leaving her lightly, and he did leave her, enough that it made her reevaluate his place in her life. He has been relegated to only being her captain and catcher, not a friend, not a confidant, not someone she goes to when she needs help. 

He hates it, he hates it so much it makes his hands shake. 

He hates that he found out about her and that tech douche breaking up from Sonny yelling it across the clubhouse, hates that she feels comfortable crying in front of Rhobles, of all people, instead of him.

He'd blamed himself for her injury, which was probably why he'd let Rachel talk him into leaving Ginny alone. He still got second hand updates from Blip and Evelyn, although they always came with judgement and pushes to go see her himself. He never listened.

Coming to terms with the fact that he'd broken Ginny's trust had been painful. She'd been already so hurt, he feels indescribably terrible that he added to her pain. That was the last thing he'd wanted to do.

The first time he'd seen her since she'd hurt herself, the closed-off and remote look on her face made his stomach drop and his palms sweat. She'd given him a polite nod and that was it. He'd had to hide himself in the bathroom and calm himself down, breath coming fast and panicked. He’d punched the stall wall and dented the metal. His knuckles had been bruised for weeks. It had felt like meager penance.

It hadn't hit him until that moment just how far they'd strayed from each other, how far he'd let her go from him. 

It had painful, awkward, and slow-going to get back to some sense of normalcy. They were on their way though. That day, the day Ginny had all but looked through him, he'd sworn he would do anything to be her friend again, to make her understand that he was deeply regretful of what he'd done, what he hadn't done.

They have been slowly but surely making their way back to each other. Not fast enough for him, not nearly fast enough, but he's not going to complain or push. 

They saw a movie together a few weeks ago, he thinks that was the turning point. She'd wanted to go directly home after and he'd obliged. He'd thrown caution to the wind and called her, hoping she'd pick up. Since slowly becoming friends again, she would only take his call about a half the time. She had answered, he'd kept the topic light, only talking about the movie and the game they were playing in a few days.

They'd laughed over the phone, and he'd felt like it was a gift, an honest to god gift that she'd given him. Mike would not be taking this for granted again, nor do anything to show her he wasn't completely serious and committed to being her friend again.

He was very happy that the Padres had become her support system, it seemed like there was always a player ready to defend and help her. 

He'd ended it with Rachel. They were trying to get back something they either never had, or lost a long time ago. Plus, it was hard spending time with her when he had an obvious preference of who he'd rather be with. 

Besides, Mike had let her talk him into leaving Baker alone, stating they needed each other's full time and attention to make it work, that there couldn't be any outside distractions. They way she'd said it made him think she saw what he'd been trying to hide. 

He was in love with Ginny.

Watching her from home plate right now, knowing something is wrong but being too far, too distant, too removed to actually do anything is near maddening. Her pitches hadn't been great either, he knows her arm isn't bothering her but something is still off. Her pitches had been wild, she's shaken him off more than usual and he thinks her hat might disintegrate from how much she's adjusted and readjusted it since the game started. 

She walks her fourth player of the game and he calls time. He strolls up slowly, trying to think of how he wants to go about making sure she's okay. He puts his glove over his face when he reaches her and decides a direct approach is best, it's not like that have time for pleasantries.

"What's wrong, Baker? Something’s off, you've been weird all day," he watches at she ducks her head and adjust her cap again.

She looks up at him then back down again, taking a deep breath.

"It's nothing, I'll get out of it, gimme the ball," she holds her hand out expectantly.

"Look, I know I'm not your first choice of people you wanna talk to," her eyes shoot up to his, this being the first time he's ever even acknowledged the rift between them, "but, something is clearly wrong and I can't do my job if you're not doing yours."

It's harsh and it's rational, he thinks it's the only thing she'll respond to. He knows her, despite their distance, he knows her.

She bites her lip and nods, shaking out a breath and letting her shoulders drop.

"It's the anniversary of the day my dad died," she says in a small voice, looking down at her feet, digging her toes into the dirt.

His heart breaks for her. 

Mike doesn't know what to say to make her feel better, in fact he knows she can't feel better, not today, not about this.

The umpire is giving them a hurry-it-up signal so he takes a breath and goes with the first thing he thinks of.

"So then pitch like he's watching, like he's sitting in the stands, proud of you, because you know he would be if he were here," he really wants to squeeze her hand but he stops himself. Not the time, and he doesn't have the right.

Ginny looks insulted, maybe determined, and something else that he can't place. 

"Gimme the ball," she says again, hand held out, open and waiting.

"Baker, I didn't to mean to--" She interrupts him. 

"Give me the damn ball, Lawson," her eyes are hard and blank as she stares up at him.

He sighs, feeling a little panicked that he may have just ruined whatever tentative relationship they'd been able to get back to since he’d ruined them. 

Mike hands her the ball and leaves her at the mound, shoving down his feelings and focusing on the game. He places his mask back over his head and punches his glove a few times, the only appropriate way to let out the frustration he's feeling.

He crouches behind the plate and watches Ginny roll her shoulders, stare into the crowd with a far away look on her face before glancing back at him, waiting for the sign. He takes a breath and calls for her screwball; she nods, goes in for the wind up.

Strike.

Something settles in him, whatever else they have to deal with, separately or apart, this, they can do this. Her pitches get better, more controlled. She only walks one other player before she gets pulled and strike out five others. 

When Al pulls her, she shoots him a grateful and charged look, her eyes more kind and open than he's seen in months. Even when they've talked, even when he showed her around Chicago, there was still this wall between them, a wall she had erected to protect herself from him. He may as well have given her the brick and mortar. 

When he finds her after the game, sitting in her little separated area, she has her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. 

"Knock, knock," she looks up at him, an unreadable look on her face. She fidgets a little bit, rubs a hand on the back of her neck and scratches at the side of her mouth. 

Without warning, she shoots out of her seat and wraps her arms around him, hugging him fiercely and tight, he can feel her finger tips digging into his skin. He's momentarily shocked still, but quickly comes back to himself and wraps his arms around her. 

He can feel her breath in the space between his neck and his shoulder and he melts into her just a little. He has no idea why this is happening but he's not stupid enough to question it. She obviously needs this, and if he's honest so does he, so he just pulls Ginny into him tighter, giving back as much as she's giving. His neck grows hot as a few tears slip out of her eyes. One of his hands comes up to wrap around the back of her neck and he starts mumbling nonsensical, but hopefully comforting, words into her ear. 

After a few minutes, he feels her give him one last squeeze before she loosens her grip around him. She doesn't go far, only stepping back a few inches, she wipes her face and takes a few deep breaths before lifting her chin and looking at him.

He tries to smile but it comes out more like a sideways frown. He wants to cup her cheek so badly; his hands are tingling with a need to hold her again but he doesn't. He's done enough, he's going to let her come to him.

"Thank you, for what you said," her voice is raw from the tears.

He nods, at a loss for words for the second time that day. He thinks it's a little ironic she's thanking him for saying something when he's been unable to say anything of value to her in months. He can tell she's about to leave and he can't let them go on like this any more.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you got hurt. I did the same thing when I almost left for the Cubs, I got scared and ran, and I ran away from the best thing in my life. I'm sorry, rookie."

"I'm not a rookie anymore, old man."

"Yeah, well, you're my rookie," he smiles at her but it slowly falls off his face as he takes in the drawn look on her face. 

“The truth is, before the game Al asked me if you should get pulled and I knew you’d want to play and I was dealing with my own crap so I pushed for you to keep pitching, even though you were over your pitch limit,” it all comes out rushed. Now that he’s decided he’s going to come clean and be completely honest, it’s tumbling out of him.

“So, you felt responsible for my injury but not for helping me get better?” She asks.

He lets out a small nervous laugh, “Well when you put it like that, I sound like even more of an asshole.”

“Your words, not mine,” she smiles tentatively up at him. 

Just like that, he's on the curb in front of Boardner's. He can almost feel the night air and smell the perfume she'd been wearing. It was almost a year ago, that they came this close. He feels like he did that night, like he's standing on the edge of something and he can either take a chance, dive in headfirst, or step back and walk away.

Looking at her right now, he thinks he stepped away from her too much, far too much. He thinks all he wants to do is walk calmly and slowly towards her, eyes wide open, fully aware of the decision he's making. He doesn't want to watch from afar, or get second hand information, or to chase, he wants to have. God, does he want. 

He wants her more than he's wanted anything in a really long time. A world series ring seems ornamental and unnecessary in comparison. But this person standing in front of him, this amazing, capable, strong, smart, witty, courageous person, she is everything. 

He throws caution to the wind and kisses her. Maybe he's rushing things, maybe he's reading too much into the look in her eye and the way she's biting her lip, but he doesn't think he is. When she kisses him back, wrapping her arms around him again, he's floating. He settles into her, giving her soft, easy kisses that quickly grow desperate. He moans into her mouth when he feels her tongue run against his bottom lip and he opens himself to her completely.

Before he gets distracted, "I love you," he spills into her mouth, eyes closed, forehead pressed against hers. 

She freezes like he did when she first hugged him, leans her head away to glance up at him, eyes wide and hopeful, a little disbelieving.

"I love you so much, I'm sorry I ever made you doubt that, Ginny," her eyes run over his face, mouth open and panting a little. She wraps a hand around the back of his neck and brings his mouth down on hers.

He's kissed before, he's loved before, but not like this. Not like it's burning him from the inside out, not like he's drowning, not like her lips against his taste like forever. 

He forces himself to pull back again.

"Hold on, hold on, talk to me, Baker," he's just as breathless as she is, he takes a few gulps of air and tilts her head up to look at him. It's been so long since they've talked about anything of substance that he's just as desperate to hear her as he is to feel her. 

"I love you too, just shut up and kiss me, old man," she says quickly, obviously, like she’s annoyed he interrupted them.

He smiles into the kiss, their teeth knocking once, twice, a third time, as he tries to kiss her while grinning. She makes a huffy noise and pulls back.

"Stop ruining the moment by being a sap," she tilts her head and levels him with an exasperated but fond look, he smiles even bigger and she just shakes her head at him.

"I've missed you," he says sincerely, desperately, hoping she fully understands just how much, "I've missed talking to you, and you're laugh, even how you laugh at me," she snorts but smiles at him, "and how you judge me all the time. God, I've missed talking to you."

"I missed you too," she says, but ducks her chin. He tilts her head back up again, needing to look in her eyes for what he's about to say. Every doubt she's had in her mind, he wants to obliterate. He wants to become a sure constant for her, he wants to be the sunrise, daylight’s saving, the tides. Consistent, permanent, forever. He realizes it will take more time, proof that he's going to follow through, but he wants to make himself very clear.

"I swear I won't ever leave you like that again, okay? I'm here," he tightens his hands a little where they are holding her.

"Okay," she says quietly.

"You believe me?" He asks, a small smile on his face.

She nods and folds herself into his body, hugging him and burying her head into his chest, "I believe you."

He knows he's gone for her because he's already addicted to the feeling of her in his arms. Knowing he'd ostensibly lost her, that she'd been so far from him for so long, finally getting this feels luxurious and near-divine. 

They don't have another game for three days, he hopes she has no plans because he wants to hide somewhere with her and just exist with each other. No other teammates, no responsibilities, no outside world. 

When he says as much, she agrees wholeheartedly, dimples on full display and he kisses one of them because he can and he wants to. It makes her giggle a little bit, he feels at ease and at home for the first time in a while. 

"Wanna get out of here?" She inquires softly, staring at him with warm eyes. 

"I'm going wherever you're going, Baker," he says simply. 

She smiles at him, kisses him one more time, lingering and sweet, before pulling away and walking out of the clubhouse. 

She leads, he follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


End file.
